Russia is using Serbia as a launchpad for influence operations designed to weaken pro-EU and pro-NATO sentiment inside the country as well as within the European Union, which has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion two years ago. Antić has used his role as head of Serbia’s military union to criticize Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and senior members of the country’s armed forces.
“They took every opportunity to promote Russian propaganda relating to the war in Ukraine,” the briefing said, referring to meetings in Serbia and EU countries.
The news that Antić held meetings inside the European Parliament underscores the body’s vulnerability to state-backed influence operations. Earlier this month, POLITICO revealed spyware was found on the mobile phones of two lawmakers in the European Parliament, including former French Europe minister Nathalie Loiseau, who chairs the body’s defense subcommittee.
Antić and his representatives did not respond to a request for comment from POLITICO.
Kalinin invited Antić to Russia to meet with senior Russian military officials between 2019 and 2020. Initially focused on influencing Serbian civil society, the pair have since widened their focus to include European trade union and veterans’ organizations and, in recent months, members of the European Parliament.
Antić, an outspoken critic of Serbia’s armed forces who has fallen afoul of the country’s political leadership, is currently being detained on unspecified charges, according to news website Balkan Insight.
According to Balkan Insight, Antić has been dismissed from Serbia’s military twice over the past five years. He has, per the publication, gone on a hunger strike to protest his detention. A lawyer for Antić declined to specify on what charges he was being held.